Federal aviation safety regulations require aircraft to provide evacuation and other safety provisions for passengers. These include evacuation slides, evacuation slide/rafts, life rafts, life vests, and other life-saving inflatable devices. Inflatable evacuation slides and/or evacuation slide/raft assemblies are commonly carried onboard a passenger aircraft. These inflatable devices are intended to serve as a slide during evacuation of the aircraft and may also be used as a raft if the evacuation occurs over water. Some aircraft carry separate evacuation slides and life rafts. All of these options are generally referred to herein as “inflatable devices.”
Inflatable evacuation slides and rafts are generally built from an assembly of inflatable tubular structures that form airbeams that are secured to one another. Inflatable evacuation slides and rafts also have non-airholding features, such as patches, floors, sliding surfaces, girts, ramps, handles, inflation ports, canopies, and other features that must be secured to the assembled inflatable device. Such securement between tubes and other accessories has typically been done with a contact cement, which is much like an adhesive or glue. This material is generally strong, but it takes quite some time for drying in between steps. The required drying time (often overnight) can extend the manufacturing time of an evacuation slide and/or evacuation slide/raft to up to a few days or longer.
Securement areas may also require reinforcement. Fabric layering of adjacent support structures is a common method of reinforcement. This reinforcement is typically done with straight tapes. Secondary steps or processes are also often required. Many constructions are fin or prayer seams that are exposed to peel forces. Fin or prayer seams with peel forces are not as strong as seams that are in shear. A failed fin or prayer seam is illustrated by FIGS. 12A-D, illustrating perspective and cross-sectional views. It is thus desirable to provide improved securing and reinforcement systems.